Foreword:
The War That Never Ends
by
Brad Linaweaver
Brad Linaweaver is author of the critically acclaimed Moon
of Ice, about what the world might be like if the Nazis had
won World War II. He is also author of fifty short stories, some
radio and film scripts, Sliders: The Novel and is co-author
with Dafydd ab Hugh of the best selling Doom novels based
on the popular video game from id Software. His new novel, The
Land Beyond Summer, is available exclusively from Pulpless.Com.
Piers Anthony is a writer of passion. Something has been
growing in his work for years -- and this is not a reference to
fecundity. His best sellers occupy whole shelves in the chain
bookstores! The largeness to which I refer is a special kind
of empathy. He sees the universe from a variety of points of
view but always with an emphasis on youth. Adults know all about
the pain of loss. The young still feel the pain of longing.
There is no literature without passion. Yes, I said literature.
Academic snobs automatically discount a writer who has the temerity
to be popular with teenagers. Their attitude seems to be that
Piers Anthony is the guy who made a fortune selling puns to adolescents.
They are immune to the cleverness of the Xanth books.
Word play offends people who do not want to play. Nor are the
old at heart likely to appreciate his best science fiction and
fantasy.
So when Piers Anthony turns to historical subjects, and produces
Serious Novels by any conceivable standard, he faces the challenge
of finding the right audience. It helps to educate young readers
who then grow up to read the author's major work. William Morrow
published such a novel, Tatham Mound, about Native Americans.
The publicity campaign was virtually non-existent compared to
the treatment afforded his genre series. At least Tatham Mound
was published in hardback and attracted critical attention.
For me, it created a hunger for another historical novel by
Piers Anthony. Nothing satisfies this appetite better than what
you now have in your possession thanks to Pulpless.Com. Anthony
has turned to one of history's true turning points to tell an
unforgettable story.
Volk is a masterpiece, a love story set during World
War II. It is certain to arouse controversy because it is not
a hate story. Without giving away any of the carefully developed
plot, the theme may be safely discussed in this foreword. Volk
brings together three people who become close friends despite
profound differences in belief. Quality is a Quaker who volunteers
to help the sick and needy in war-torn Spain. She is a woman
who in her quiet way demolishes the insults of those who doubt
the courage of a true pacifist. Lane is an American patriot who
wants to go to England and be a fighter pilot with the R.A.F..
He anticipates eventual hostilities against the Third Reich.
After all, the Spanish Civil War was the warm-up act for the
most horrible war in history. There were a number of prescient
Americans like Lane who couldn't help but see the handwriting
on the wall. So far, so good. Right?
The remaining member of the trio is Ernst, a Nazi. No, I
don't mean the cliched "good German" who often appears
in fiction set during this period. Ernst is a party member, a
true believer in National Socialism. A Nazi. There is no deception
between these good comrades. Lane and Quality know what Ernst
is. So how can a woman in the Society of Friends be friends with
two warriors, one of whom serves a perfidious regime? It takes
a writer with the skill of Piers Anthony to provide the answer.
Sometimes it is the person who feels emotions most deeply who
is willing to think through a situation to its logical end, and
act accordingly.
Anthony's characters are not reworkings of stock characters
from other people's fiction. He draws on life and a close study
of personality, a sure way to get into trouble. Volk is
the kind of novel Victor Hugo would write if he'd lived in our
times. A true Romantic can make a personal possession into a
symbol of anything he chooses, inverting or reinforcing the original
intent of the symbol, baptizing or exorcising a symbol, reinterpreting
it as befits the ideology of the human heart. So it is that Ernst's
silver swastika takes on a meaning undreamed of by Adolf Hitler.
Another way to get into trouble.
Come to think of it, Victor Hugo might have had trouble placing
a novel this honest about material normally treated with a host
of considerations taking precedence over characterization. Piers
Anthony did his homework. The historical figures ring true.
For example, no movie has come close to capturing the real Reinhard
Heydrich whose style was both urbane and sinister. Generally,
the movies give us interpretations that would barely achieve credibility
in a cartoon. When Anthony insists on reality here it bodes well
for believability in the rest of the narrative.
Which leads to another problem. Some readers may find Volk
too convincing. A doctorate in history shouldn't be necessary
to figure out that in a war there will be good people and bad
people on all sides. Common sense should be enough. But as the
night follows the day, and black markets follow Total Victory,
so too does ill treatment of prisoners of war happen no matter
who is in charge.
Sometimes the losers die. That's why it's better to win.
Volk shows us that for some German prisoners at the end
of hostilities, it was better to fall into British hands than
American or French or Russian hands.
Hold on. Did I say American? We all know Germans didn't
want to surrender to Russians. That's well documented. Besides,
we've seen this acted out in uncounted numbers of Hollywood films.
That's where most of us get our history. But as already noted,
Piers Anthony did his homework. Volk would be a great
novel even without the unpleasant history lesson about certain
American-run camps at the end of the war. There will probably
be critics who complain that the British come off too well.
The research and expert story telling combine to make Volk
a modern classic. Thanks to Pulpless.Com, we finally get to read
this important book.
Begin Reading Volk.